I leapt from building to building, with my best friend Shawn Dior struggling to keep up.
I came to a sudden stop, having spotted our target, a wealthy trader. Shawn barely managed to stop himself without bumping into me. I snickered.
"Hey!" he yelled as he barely managed to keep upright. The thought of pushing him crossed my mind, but I resisted the temptation. I had to focus on the mission.
"Focus, there's our target," I said to him, hiding a smile when I heard him muttering. I turned to him, "ready?"
"You bother asking?"
He asked smiling mischievously. I felt my mouth twitch upwards into a smile. He had been this way, ever since I first met him. We had been introduced into the guild at around the same time, and we were fast friends.
"Hey, Leo? Hello? Anyone home?" I heard Shawn say as he waved a hand in front of my face. I batted his hand away, and peered over the edge of the building, hoping the trader hadn't disappeared. I glanced at Shawn to let him know, it was time. He immediately became solemn. He never seemed to want to kill anyone, so I wondered why he was here. Maybe he had nowhere else to go, like me.
I shook my head, clearing it. Instead I focused on the mission at hand. I placed my black, cat-like mask over my face and pulled the hood of my black and red jacket over my head, and stood at the top of the building, flicking out my hidden blade attached to my armband. The blade glinted in the sunshine, my reflection visible.
I signalled for Shawn to go in when the trader disappeared into an alleyway. He dropped down, and moments later was chasing after the trader like someone looking for a deal. The trader stopped, rubbing his hands together greedily for what he thought was going to be a profitable deal. Greed really blinded people. My turn. I leapt down, my landing softened by the merchant. Before he could do or say anything, I had stabbed my blade into his throat. He gurgled, his eyes widening like saucers. I smiled, anyone who worked for the queen deserved to die.
"Yin,"
Shawn said quietly. He was smart for not using my real name. I followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. There were three children watching me with shocked expressions. My guild-master's words echoed in my head,
'Leave no witnesses'
Taking a deep breath, I stood up, shaking the blood off my blade. The street rats cowered in the corner. They seemed to be unaware that the alleyway wasnt blocked off.
I heard Shawn whisper again and glancing at him, I saw that he had also placed his mask on. His was a white cat-like mask with three stripes. I could see why when we patrolled, we were usually known as the yin and yang. I snapped my gaze back to the children and slowly walked forward. They scrambled up and started to run. I nodded to Shawn and he immediately leapt to the other side of the alleyway, blocking the way. They stumbled to a stop. They glanced at Shawn, then back at me.
I grabbed one of the street rats by the shirt and pressed my blade against his neck. His eyes widened, and he started to plead with me.
"Please kind sir, please let us go,"
My resolve crumbled, and memories came flashing back.
Silently, I pressed the blade closer to his throat. He yelped as my blade made a scratch. The drop of blood trailed down the blade and to the arm band.
The guard pressed the blade to my neck
I cursed and roughly threw the boy to the ground. He yelped as he landed and looked up at me with fearful eyes. Of all the times the memories couldve come back, why now?
Shawn stared at me with a puzzled expression. His mask wasn't a barrier to me. I shook my head knowing I was disobeying our master in every way.
"Beat it!" I said to the kids and they didn't wait around. They scrambled to their feet and ran.
I fell back against the wall of the alleyway, breathing heavily. Shawn placed a hand on my shoulder, as I removed the mask and covered my face with my hand, feeling the tears fall. Embarrassed, I hurriedly wiped them away.
"Why'd you let them go?" Shawn whispered removing his mask.
"They reminded me of someone," I replied quietly.
"Who?"
"Me,"
Shawn was quiet. Too quiet. So, I looked up to find him staring at the spot where the kids had been moments before.
"You know, sometimes I wish we could be like those kids. Instead of doing this," Shawn said quietly.
"Shawn," I started, but he grabbed my arm and leapt up to a balcony nearby. I yelped in surprise as I was dragged along. I was literally running along the walls as Shawn kept leaping and climbing. At one point he let go.
When I looked down, I saw that the ground was pretty far and scrambled to get a hand hold on the side of the building. When I caught a notch in the stone, my body thudded against the wall, knocking the breath out of my lungs. I climbed up, swearing. A bead of sweat rolled down my face as I pulled myself up to the top. Shawn was standing there with a smile. I cursed at him, making him laugh. He suddenly lost his balance and fell.
"Shawn!" I yelled and peered over the edge. He was sitting on a balcony not far down, grinning mischievously.
"Aww, did you worry about me? Im flattered," He said placing his hand on his chest.
I shook my head sighing, "Idiot,"
I leapt down, and shot him a look that said, he was dead. He laughed again and beckoned to me as he prepared to leap to the next building. I caught up to him and glanced sidelong at him.
"Where're we going?"
"The bar, he said grinning."
I groaned. Him and that bar, not a good combination.
We reached the bar in record time, because Shawn was a little too enthusiastic. As soon as he entered the bar, he yelled loudly to the bartender, who replied a greeting. I stood outside for a moment, trying to decide if I should go in or not.
"Oh, screw it," I muttered as I walked in. The strong smell of alcohol and loud, rowdy music greeted me. I recognised a lot of the people and they nodded to me as I walked by. I reached the counter and ordered one drink, keeping an eye on those around me. I knew them but that didn't mean we were friends.
Shawns terrible dancing on a table nearby was hard not to notice. Was he that drunk already? I covered my face, embarrassed. The bartender laughed.
"Some dancer he is huh?" He asked smiling.
"Yeah, some dancer, but not in the good way," I mumbled taking a swig from my drink. He laughed and went back to serving the other customers. I lowered my head and drank in solidarity.
"Hey, tough guy," a young womans voice whispered. I stiffened. That voice was familiar. A soft and seductive voice; Madison. I groaned as she wrapped her arms around me, crushing me against her. I could hear men hooting as she traced her finger along my chest. My body gave me all sorts of signals and my breath caught as her fingers travelled further down, but I grabbed her wrist, stopping her exploration. I stood up and turned, coming face to face with her. Madison had large brown eyes, and long dark hair.
She traced my jaw line with her other hand and I grabbed that wrist as well. She batted her eyelashes at me, trying to seduce me. But I wasn't buying it, she had slept with so many other men before.
Looking around I noticed that a big crowd had gathered around us. I dropped her wrists, giving her a look that said, I'm not interested. She sighed and walked around me, eyeing me. Then wandered off, laughing, taking the crowd with her. Sighing, I turned and sat down. This was going to be long day.